The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has developed anodes comprising porous carbon made from asphalt that showed exceptional stability after more than 500 charge-discharge cycles. A high-current density of 20 milliamps per square centimeter demonstrated the material’s promise for use in rapid charge and discharge devices that require high-power density. The finding is reported in the journal ACS Nano.

In addition, the researchers found that the new anode prevented the formation of lithium dendrites. These mossy deposits invade a battery’s electrolyte. If they extend